Michigan: Vote Michael Bouchard for US Senate

Michael Bouchard is the sheriff of Oakland County, Michigan and is running against one of the worst members of the US Senate, Debbie Stabenow. Stabenow beat her Republican opponent in 2000 by just 1% of the vote (66,259 votes out of 4 million) and this is forecast to be a tight race. IF you live in Michigan, Bouchard needs your vote and if you’re outside Michigan, consider contributing to his campaign. The race in 2000 turned on 3 counties, including Oakland County where Bouchard is likely to be more than competitive.

Stabenow has a lifetime American Conservative Union rating of 11% and in 2004 earned a single-digit 8%. In 2005, She earned a 0% from Freedom Works, a 6% from the National Taxpayers Union and a 5% from Americans for Tax Reform. She received a 44% rating from the US Chamber of Commerce in 2005. She likes government waste; she received a 21% from Citizens Against Government Waste in 2005. The CATO Institute–Center for Trade Policy Studies gave her a 17% in 2001-2002 and a 55% in 2003-2004. The American Security Council rated her 20% in 2003-2004. Despite positioning herself as an environmentalist and animal lover, Stabenow received only a 60% rating from the (relatively rational) Humane Society in 2005. Perhaps liberals think she’s a friend of civil liberties – wrong! She received ratings of 64%, 60% and 78% from the ACLU for the last three sessions of Congress. Gun Owners of America rated her at 0% during 2005.

Two groups give Debbie Stabenow 100%, the hardcore pro-abortion lobby and the teacher’s unions. NARAL Pro-Choice America has consistently given Stabenow 100% rankings – achievable only by supporting the strongest pro-abortion policies including support of partial birth abortion. In 2005 the National Education Association gave Stabenow 100% and in 2003-2004 they gave her 95%. This doesn’t mean she supports education, it means she supports teacher’s unions and the bureaucratization of education. In 2003-2004, the National School Boards Association only rated her 67%.

Enough of why you should vote against Debbie Stabenow if you live in Michigan, now for why you should support Michael Bouchard, I’ll defer to the Club for Growth:

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard is running against Hillary-like incumbent Sen. Debbie Stabenow. However, that might not be fair to Hillary! Sen. Stabenow tied for dead last in the Club for Growth scorecard with a score of zero. National Taxpayers Union gave her five straight “F” grades, and those were low “F’s”!

Name the economic issue, whether it is tax cuts, Death Tax repeal, fiscal responsibility, legal reform or anything else, and Stabenow will oppose us.

Bouchard is terrific on all of our issues and has a proven record. As sheriff, he privatized inmate food services in county jails, saving $1.6 million annually. While serving in the state legislature, Bouchard wrote and passed one of the largest tax cuts in the history of Michigan. He also supported a constitutional amendment that would require a supermajority to pass tax hikes. He opposed a Republican governor who wanted a new government backed program to pick investment winners and losers. Its acronym was MEGA, an apt name for a program antithetical to limited government.

We believe Stabenow is one of the two or three most vulnerable Democratic senators. She currently holds consistent leads in independent polls, but typically comes in just at or slightly below 50%, a danger sign for an incumbent. The unpopularity of the Democratic governor who is up for reelection and the very sour public mood about the economic condition of the state also hurts Stabenow’s prospects. Michigan may be the only state in the country where the current political environment is more anti-incumbent than anti-Republican. Another plus for Bouchard is that he has won many elections in the largest swing county in the state.